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Even on days with very little wind, water from an in-ground sprinkler system can blow where you don't want it because the fine spray nozzles on traditional popup sprinklers create a lot of mist that is easily displaced by the slightest breeze. There's a quick and easy way to fix this!



When a large amount of water goes on your concrete instead of your grass you'll need to run your sprinklers longer to make sure your lawn gets the water it needs. Not only is this bad for the environment, especially if you live in an area prone to drought, but it increase your water bill as well.



There is an affordable solution that will reduce misting and overspray of your existing system and it's very simple to install. It only involves replacing your sprinkler nozzles. The new nozzles will give you a more even watering pattern, reduce your water usage and minimize overspray and misting.

Hunter MP Rotator Nozzles

The MP Rotator nozzles are a fairly new innovation created by Walla Walls which was purchased by Hunter. Instead of broadcasting a fine mist spray they work like mini rotor sprinklers with multiple rotating streams.



The larger droplet size is more resistant to wind which prevents the water from being blown away so more of it winds up on your lawn where you want it instead of your driveway and sidewalks where you don't.



The Hunter MP Rotator nozzles also have a lower precipitation rate compared to the old style spray nozzles. They put down about 1/3rd as much water which will allow the water to be absorbed by your soil and prevent runoff. You'll need to water your lawn about twice as long as you previously with spray heads but you're still saving 1/3rd the water.

Adustable Arcs

Spray heads come in fixed angles such as 90, 180, 270, 360. The MP Rotators have adjustable arcs which allow you to fine tune your angles to prevent putting water where you don't want it. Three different arc ranges are available, 45-105, 90-210, 210-270 and 360 degrees.



Adjustments are made by turning a ring around the nozzle using the adjusting tool.

Adjustable Radius

The radius can also be reduced on the MP Rotator nozzles so that you can adjust the spray pattern so it only applies water where you want. The radius is adjusted by turning a screw on the top of the nozzle while the nozzle is running. You can use a very small screwdriver or the MP Adjusting Tool.

Matched Precipitation

The MP in MP Rotator stands for matched precipitation which means no matter what arc angle or radius you set the precipitation rate will be roughly the same.

Hunter MP Rotators Vs Old Toro Sprinkler Nozzles

Watch this video comparing the old Toro Spray nozzles and the new Hunter MP Rotator nozzles. Both shots were taken within minutes of each other. The reduction in overspray and mist is very dramatic.







It was a very sunny day and the streams could only be picked up by my camera when close up. Before replacing the nozzles water was puddling on the sidewalk and driveway. Afterwards there was very little water on the sidewalk and most of it was due to not positioning one of the nozzles correctly.



This part of the yard is right next to the neighbors. With the old nozzles we'd be watering the neighbor's yard too!



The only draw back is that you'll need to reprogram your controller to water twice as long. You'll probably want to monitor the results and make adjustments up or down depending on how your lawn reacts but even though you'll be watering longer, you'll be using less water overall and not wasting water on your hardscape.



Another benefit of the low flow is that if something changed in your neighborhood that reduced the flow rate of your water system, either due to changes in the mains, or additional development in your area, replacing your existing nozzles with MP Rotators will make your system run like new again.

Male or Female Threads

The MP Rotator nozzles are available in either a male or female threaded version to fit different style popup sprinklers.



Female threaded MP Rotators will fit Hunter, Rain Bird, Nelson, Irritrol and Whethermatic sprinkler bodies.



Male threaded MP Rotatos will fit Toro popup bodies.



One of the heads in the test system was an Orbit sprinkler body that had a brass, male threaded nozzle. The MP rotator was too narrow to fit into this nozzle unfortunately. If you have these types of sprinkler bodies and want to use the MP Rotator you'll need to dig them out and replace them with something like the Hunter Pro Spray Body 4" which takes the female threaded nozzles.

MP Rotator Versions

The MP Rotators come in different models. They are hard to find locally but a wide assortment can be found for a good price on Amazon.



MP1000 has a radius range of 8'-15'.

MP2000 has a radius range of 13'-21'

MP3000 has a radius range of 22'-31'



All models, MP1000, MP2000 and MP3000 are available in 90-210, 210-270 and 360 degree arcs.

Specialty Nozzles

The MP rotator series also includes a few specialty nozzles.



MPCORNER for tight spaces has an adjustable arc of 45-105 degrees with an adjustable radius of 8' to 15'.



Side Strip: MPSS530 creates a rectangular spray pattern of 5' x 30' with the spray head in the middle of one of the long sides. The MPLCS515 and MPRCS515 are left and right corner strips that produces a 5'x15' spray.

I have a couple of Gilmour Metal Impulse Sprinklers on Zinc Spike Bases. They work very well but they can be loud, even after using my technique to make them quieter so I decided to attach a Hunter PGP Adjustable Rotor Head to the spike base.



The gear driven rotor sprinklers are a lot quieter than the impact sprinklers. If you don't already have the impact sprinklers you can just buy the Gilmour Turbine Rotor Sprinkler With Polymer Spike Base and not have to add the rotor head on it. I already had these impulse sprinklers so I decided to convert my impact sprinkler to a rotor sprinkler.



The Hunter PGP Rotor Head is also recognized as one of the better gear driven sprinkler heads out there. These sprinklers are meant for in ground installations but I'll be using them above-ground on spike bases. By the way, if you already have the sprinkler heads you can also buy the Orbit Zinc Step Spike Base to mount it on.

Quieter Than an Impact Sprinkler

Because the sprinkler is gear driven and doesn't use the impact from the swing arm to turn the sprinkler the Hunter PGP is considerably quieter than an impact sprinkler All you hear is the sound of the water spray. Here is a video of my sprinkler installed and running. The hunter PGP has a radius range of 20' to 46' which matches well with the impact sprinkler. Take a look at the video below to hear how quiet it is in action.

Materials

Since I already had the spikes from the impact sprinkers, to upgrade my impact sprinkler to a rotor I only needed to purchase the following two items:

• Hunter PGP 4" Popup Sprinkler Head


• 3/4" x 6" Polyethylene Cut off Nipple Riser

Tools

Step 1: Remove Impact Sprinkler Head

The old impact sprinkler head is screwed on to the spike base. It comes off easy by turning it counter clockwise with a pair of pliers.

Step 2: Cut Down Cut-off Riser

The cut-off riser has multiple threaded sections on it. It is used when installing in-ground sprinklers to connect the lateral lines to sprinkler heads. It will also work to connect the Hunter PGP sprinkler to the spike base.






To get the sprinkler head close to the ground I elected to cut the riser down to the first threaded section. The riser cuts easily with a utility knife.






The cut section on the left is what will be used to attach the sprinkler head to the base.




Update: The cutoff riser is designed to be weaker than the other components so it breaks easily. I made the mistake of trying to push the sprinkler spike into the ground by holding it by the sprinkler body and not the metal spike base. The riser snapped. It's designed to do this because the riser is cheaper to replace than the sprinkler body or the other fittings which are either more expensive or more difficult to replace. I'm considering replacing the broken cutoff riser with either a metal or PVC 1/2" to 3/4" reducing nipple which would be more durable. I would need to make sure to be careful handling the sprinkler since it would obviously break before the metal fitting.

Step 3: Attach Riser To Base

The thinner end of the nipple screws into the spike base using a clockwise motion. Make sure the threads are seated correctly because the plastic threads are easy to strip. I tightened as far as I could by hand and then continued with a pair of pliers to get it nice and snug.

Step 4: Attach Sprinkler Head To Riser

I've owned my Suncast Sidetracker 125-Foot Garden Hose Reel for just over 3 years now and wanted to update my review. There have been a couple of hiccups but overall I'm extremely happy with the hose reel and especially pleased with Suncast's customer service.



Even though the hose reel is very affordable (it costs less than $30 at the time of this writing,) I just hate wasting money on products that don't work or break. It makes me feel like I was scammed. Reading the reviews for the various affordable hose reels I kept seeing the same negative reviews over and over. Not just for the Suncast STA125B but for all hose reels. They leak, their flimsy, they break, etc.



I really needed a hose reel and was anxious for the delivery but I also felt very anxious fearing that I made a bad purchase decision. I was so close to spending over $100 on a metal hose reel, like they use at my local garden center. I have friends and family that have had plastic hose reels for years and haven't had problems so I decided to take a shot on the Suncast Sidetracker. I'm very glad I did.

Why Use A Hose Reel?

With all the frustration I was having trying to choose the best hose reel you might wonder why bother? I guess I'm a bit lazy sometimes. I like doing things, home improvement projects, yard work, etc., but I don't enjoy tidying up afterwords one bit. The faster I can be done, after I already consider myself done the happier I am.



A hose real is an easy way to tidy up your hose after watering your lawn or garden. I used to have a wall mount hose hanger but the hose always looked unkempt and lots of times I'd leave the hose piled up on the ground underneath it just so I could get out of the heat faster.



Using my Suncast hose reel is a snap and I no longer have my hose laying around where it can get kinked or damaged. It also makes it easy to remove the hose and store it for the winter.

Hose Reel Installation

The Suncast Sidetracker was very easy to install. It comes with screws and wall anchors which I needed to install it on my brick wall. All I needed was a drill, masonry bit, hammer and screwdriver to securely mount the hub (base) onto the wall.



An included short hose connects the hub to the faucet and then your hose attaches to the reel.

It Leaked!

That's right. Right after I first installed my hose reel, attached my hose and turned the knob on my hose bib, water started shooting out the hose reel in every direction. This wasn't just a trickle either. I wasn't happy at all.



I took the hose reel apart and looked at what the problem was. There were a couple of issues. One major one was there were no rubber garden hose washers in the short hose that was included. I contacted Suncast and after providing them with the information about when and where I purchased the hose reel, they quickly sent me replacement washers as well as an additional tube of silicone grease and mounting anchors. If you're having problems with leaks there's more detail in my how to fix a leaking hose reel article. It didn't take much to fix the leaks.

It Warped!

At this point you might be a little confused, I did say I loved the hose reel right?



Actually, it came a little warped. The base that mounts to the wall had a slight bend but it got worse over the years. At first it didn't seem like a big deal because the screw had straightened it out and held it flat on the wall. Every few months though it would pull out and even though I used various methods to keep the anchor in place, mortar, hydraulic cement, epoxy, it would still pull the screw out from the wall.



It seems like it's a design flaw with the hose reel hub (the part that mounts to the wall.) You can see there's a thin spot in the plastic because of the notch for the leader hose to pass to the back of the hub. There's one on each side to allow you to mount it on either side of your faucet.



The top screw is very important because the reel mounts to the top and the weight of the hose on the reel puts extra strain on that screw.

Suncast Support Is Great!

I wasn't very happy at this point and I contacted Suncast customer support again. After describing the problem and sending them photos they told me they would send a replacement hub.




The replacement hub arrived promptly and I noticed they had updated the design. Suncast moved the notches for the leader hose to the bottom which made the new hub sturdier than the old hub.



Installation was easy and the new hub came with new o-rings, though in 3 years I hadn't needed to replace them in that time. All I needed to do was add more silicone grease every year when I put the reel back on the hub.



Even though I had some major issues with the hose reel, I understand that sometimes issues can come up, some of which might  have been the retailer's fault, but they stood by their product. If their products were garbage, they'd go out of business doing this so I guess I was just unlucky. These things happen.

The Best Features

Like I said, I really like the Suncast Sidetracker Hose Reel.The issues I had above were a pain to deal with but hopefully you don't run into the same issues as I believe the new model comes with the sturdier hub. (Update: Confirmed with Suncast new STA125B's come with sturdier hub.) The good things about the hose reel far outweigh the problems I've had and even when the hub was bent the hose reel functioned well and didn't leak after I corrected the issues. I've had the new hub installed for quite a while now without issue.

Compact Design

What I liked about the Sidetracker was that it mounts with the reel flat against the wall which minimizes the amount it protrudes from the all.

Hose Guide

The Sidetracker has a hose guide built into the base. There is a spinning bar behind the front of the guide. This allows the hose to be pulled perpendicular to the wall and still gracefully spin out of the reel without causing strain on the hose or the reel.



This was an important feature for me since most of the time I use the hose I'm pulling it straight out from the wall. It also makes it easy to collect the hose without having to fight to align the hose properly while winding it up.

125' Capacity

One of the complaints I read about other hose reels was that even though they claimed to hold 100' of hose, they didn't. The extra capacity allows me to roll up my 100' hose without having to be too neat about it.

Easy To Remove and Replace Hose

At the end of the season I store my hose indoors to prevent it from deteriorating in the freezing weather. Pulling one tab unlocks the reel and provides a neat bundle to store away. When it's time to replace the hose it's just a matter of adding more silicone grease, sliding the hose reel onto the hub and locking the tab in place.



The hose reel also makes it easy to drain water from the hose before storing it for the winter. I just remove the sprayer, pull out the entire length of the hose and slowly reel it back in letting gravity do the work.

Affordable Price

The Suncast Sidetracker CPLSTA125B Hose Reel is priced very well. It's a small price to pay but it has made some yard work more enjoyable and I don't have to worry about people tripping over my hose or having my yard look messy.



I was really scared about all the negative reviews but even with the issues I initially had, I'm very pleased with the product and the service I received from Suncast. I found the best price on Amazon.com and it included free shipping.

A rain gauge is a device you place in your garden to see how much rain has fallen on your landscape in a given period of time. There are simple rain catchers as well as wireless electronic versions.



They help you accurately determine how much rain has fallen on your property which will help you save water. If you followed my advice on how to water your lawn, you already know how much water your lawn needs. A rain gauge will tell you how much rain fall you had so you can adjust your watering cycle so you can subtract the amount of time necessary to account for natural rain fall.



You should empty your rain gauge every time you water your lawn or weekly, whichever comes first.

Below are some of the nicer rain gauges I have seen that also have free shipping:







One should be enough if you just want to measure rainfall, but if you're putting them in the path of your sprinklers one per zone would be better. If you have an area that gets less water, for instance under a group of trees, you might want a separate rain gauge there as well.



If you like to electronic toys and don't want to bend over regularly to check or empty rain gauges, there are electronic weather stations that will allow you to check how much rain you had. There's the Honeywell TC150 Wireless Rain Gauge but Oregon Scientific seems to be the leader in home weather stations and I'd probably go with them. I've had one of there weather stations in the past and was very happy with it. Unfortunately it was damaged during a move because it wasn't packed well.



I'm trying to be frugal but I do love toys so it's just a matter of time until I break down and buy a Oregon Scientific RGR126 Range Rain Gauge.

How much should you water your lawn? That's a very common question and one that gets asked frequently and there are some common answers. They may have started out as rules-of-thumb but have been repeated so frequently as to at least verge on the edge of being classified as myths.



So lets go over why you shouldn't go by these suggestions and then cover how you should really water your lawn. Bear with me, it's pretty easy, the only hard part is understanding why you can't let someone else tell you how to water your lawn. There's even a tool to tell you how long you need to water your lawn. The hardest part is probably reading through this, I know I can be a bit long winded. Hopefully it's worth it.

Lawn Watering Myths

One inch of water a week

This is the one I see repeated the most. You want to water established grass deeply and infrequently and 1" of water a week seems like it should accomplish this right? Well yeah, in many cases it does but it's too broad a statement to follow it blindly.



Different types of soils hold different amounts of water for different amounts of time. For instance clay soil will hold water longer than sandy soil and it's not like there are two types of soil. Everyone's soil is different with differing water holding properties.



Different types of grass also need different amounts of water then you have to consider that a lot of thatch build up may be keeping a good bit of water from penetrating deep into the root zone and there are factors that will determine how much water the grass and soil loses. This combination of moisture lost through evaporation and plant transpiration is called evapotranspiration (ET). Evapotranspiration is effected by the weather. Hotter drier weather increases ET. Thatch also plays a role in evapotranspiration. While thatch can soak up water making it necessary to water longer, it also acts as a mulch and reduces evaporation so you don't need to water as often.



Even something you wouldn't think would play a role is the condition of your mower blade. I've said this repeatedly, one of the best things you can do for your lawn on so many different levels is keep a sharp blade. In a paper Mower blade sharpness effects on turf (Steinegger et al. 1983) mowing kentucky bluegrass with a dull blade used 1.3 times less water than mowing it with a sharp blade. That's right less water. The damaged grass wasn't as healthy and wasn't taking in as much water. So don't think you'll save on water with a dull blade, you'll just have bad looking grass all around.



So unless someone knows exactly what type of soil you have, what your weather is like, how much sun your lawn gets, how much thatch you have, how sharp your blade is, what type of grass you have, how deep your roots are, they can't tell you how much water your lawn needs. 1" of water a week could be 2x as much or more or maybe not even half the amount you need.

30 minutes per zone once a week

This one I've seen different variations of where it's X minutes per zone every Y days or something similar. This is poor advice. In addition to all the issues mentioned above in the 1" per water a week discussion, you have the added variables that go along with your sprinkler system. When I've seen this advice given there is no description given of the type of irrigation system the person has. People seem to give advice based on what works for them even though chances are it won't work as well for you.



There are vast differences between sprinkler heads/nozzles, the installation arrangement and the water pressure (PSI) delivered to the heads. All that will determine how much water is actually delivered.

Looking at a typical line of sprinkler nozzles from the same family the precipitation rate can vary from 1.43 in/hr to 2.05 in/hr at the same pressure using the same family of nozzles.



It gets worse when different types of sprinkler heads are used which is common. For example, you might use gear driven sprinklers for large areas and sprayers for smaller areas. Different zones could have different precipitation rates that could be 0.4 in/hr to over 2 in/hr. For one person 30 minutes of watering might mean 1/4" of water, for another it might mean 1/2".

How much and how often to water your lawn

So I've ranted about myths, evapotranspiration, given you some numbers about precipitation rates of sprinkler heads you may not be familiar with and you might be thinking that I'm going to give you some advice that's too hard to understand or to difficult to implement. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The best advice I've ever heard regarding lawn watering came from Roger Cook in an episode (probably many episodes) of This Old House or Ask This Old House. Water your lawn as much as it needs when it needs it! Simple huh? OK that didn't clear things up, Roger went further to indicate you need to water down to the root zone and then water it when the lawn shows signs of drought stress and I'll expand on some of the things he said with what I've learned to help you figure out how to water your lawn.

How long should I water my lawn?

As Roger Cook explained, you need to water down to the root zone. This should be pretty obvious. Plants absorb water through their roots so having the soil around the roots moist is important. Watering below the root zone is just wasting water.



These are the steps to determine how much water your lawn needs. It's best to run this test after a few days without rain and no rain scheduled for the next day either.




Step 1 - Determine root zone depth: You need to know how deep your roots go. You can take a square spade and make a U-shape cut in your lawn then pull it back and see how far down the roots extend. An easier way is to use a soil probe (aka soil sampler) as pictured to the right (click picture for more details.) A soil probe saves a lot of time especially if you have multiple sprinkler zones. It also comes in handy when you're taking soil samples to send in for a soil test and doesn't affect a large area of your lawn.



You can also see the profile of your soil to determine how much thatch you have. The one pictured to the right takes 12" deep cores. It's not much more expensive than smaller soil probes that only go down to 6" which isn't deep enough for most lawns. If you're willing to spend a little more this soil sampler is a little longer and looks easier to use.



If you don't have at least 6" of the soil dry at the top wait for it to dry out more before performing the rest of the test.



Step 2 - Water your lawn for 15 minutes: Run your sprinkler system for 15 minutes in each zone. You can program them to all run one after the other. You won't be seeing how far it went right away.

It's a good idea to use some tuna cans or rain gauges to see how many inches of water your sprinklers put out in 15 minutes. You'll use this information along with your rain guages to make adjustments to your sprinkler time so that you don't waste water.



Step 3 - Measure how deep water penetrated 24 hours later: After 24 hours come back and see how deep the water penetrated. To figure out how long to water your lawn divide 15 by the number of inches of moist soil times the root depth of your lawn. For example, if the root depth is 8" and the soil was moistened to 3" deep: 15/3 * 8 = 40 minutes. If your root depth is 12" 15/3 * 12 = 60 minutes.

To make things easier, just enter the values in the form below:

Depth to root Zone:
Depth of Moist Soil:
	?	minutes

This is how long you need to water your lawn. It doesn't matter what time of year it is, spring, summer or fall. The only time you need to recalculate is if there's a significant change in your root zone depth (if you're lawn is still being established for example or you're moving from a shallow infrequent watering schedule) or there's a significant change in your thatch (dethatching).

How often should I water my lawn?

Well, like Roger Cook said, only water it when it needs it and he says you can tell when it needs it when it looks limp and when you walk on it you can see your footsteps because the lawn doesn't spring back. How often this happens depends on the weather, the amount of rain fall and evapotranspiration but when your lawn needs water you'll see it.



You don't need to keep your soil moist throughout the root zone. In fact it's better to let the top dry out. This will minimize chances of diseases forming as well as dry out shallow rooted weeds and prevent new weed seeds from germinating. You don't want your grass to completely dry out, but it's good for it to get a little thirsty. Water it when about 30-40% of the lawn starts to show signs of drought stress.



If it's been a while, there hasn't been any rain but you're not sure, take a peek at the soil and see if the root zone is moist. It doesn't have to be completely wet but if it's totally dry you obviously need to water.

You can also view this post that contains a tool from the Northeast Regional Climate Center that will use rain fall and temperature to help tell you when you should water your lawn.

What if you're watering by hand?

If you're watering by hand using a hose and sprayer, you're not going to have the consistency that someone with a sprinkler system does but you can still apply the same principles and try to water your lawn as evenly as you can.



If you are interested you can put together some simple lawn sprinkler systems yourself and use an automated sprinkler timer that connects to your hose for less than $100. Use the link for more information.